The positive is that out of ten 205/55 R16 patterns, it only includes two premium manufacturers. This means we get a much better look at the midrange bracket of winter tyres, which is great for those of us who want to save a little money, and all ten patterns on test have been tested for ice braking and traction which is now usually omitted from central European tyre testing.

Sadly, Auto Center decided not to provide any data from handling testing, instead giving an overall subjective score, which we assume combines lap time and handling. While this is a little odd, it's better than no test at all.

The final results might not make a buying decision any easier either, as nearly half the tyres on test finished in fourth place. With everything so close in the midrange pack, make sure you drill into the test data to really help you understand which tyre is best for your own driving needs.

Dry

During dry braking, the Nokian Snowproof had an unusually large braking advantage, stopping the car nearly two meters shorter than the next best tyre.

The Continental WinterContact TS860 finished joint top with the Gislaved Euro Frost 6.

Wet

The premium tyres from Michelin and Continental were the best in wet braking.

Yokohama had a strong result in the wet handling tests.

The Continental WinterContact TS860 had another strong result in the wet, winning the aquaplaning test.

Snow

Continental proved to be excellent in snow braking too.

Strangely, the top two tyres from snow braking were near the bottom of the pack in snow traction.

Braking proved to be more important than traction for the snow handling tests, with Continental and Nokian back on top.